Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1887-10-08
PLANTING FRUIT TREES.
How 1t Should be D0ne--Fall Planting
{. the Most Advantageous.
Henry Stewart, in n. 7. Times.

Henry Stewart, IN n. Y. Times.
Not one orchard In hundred, perhar
we might truly say thousand, Is plantet
| as it should be for its most profitable
growth. We have seen orchards planted
In such manner that the trees could no
grow: small holes dug, the roots crushet
! together in a bunch and pushed In thu
holes: earth thrown in and tramplet
down. and the job was done. The tree.
leayed out in short time, lived upon tn.
store of food in the stem, failed, persisted
and came TO an untimely end when the
August drouth stopped the flow of moist
ure. OF course the innocent nurserymaI
was blamed for the loss. Other orchards
better cared for at the planting and doing
we'll nearly up to the bearing time are
left to the borers, bear a few premature
fruits, fade, turn yellow, and die. Others
escaping these earlier dangers, have been
neglected, perhaps have been torn and
bruised by the plow, e'nawed by rabbits,
left to throw out numerous suckers which
enyeloped the tree in dense thicket OF
sprouts: the MOSES gathered on the trunks
and limbs, few gnarled apples too hard
for the apple moths, few cracked and
rotted pairs only were to be seen, and
the trees very soon decayed and became
miserable wrecks.
Labor and money are thus thrown away
and. the profits that might have been
gathered in and all the pleasure of sue
cess were lost. This is so frequently the
case that many farmers are deferred from
planting, thinking it a hopeless work sur
rounded by difficulties and obstacles and
almost sure to end in failure. Thus then
it is that much of tie good there is in the
world is missed, preponderance of evil re-
sulting from mistakes, negligence, or ig-
norance deters people from making efforts
to succeed There is a very easy way to
succeed in planting fruit trees, and in
bringing them to profitable bearing con-
dition and to keep them SO for lifetime,
and this way is simply to treat them and
consider them as a crop, just as potatoes,
corn or melons may be planted and grown,
and never to have an idea that tree
stuck in the ground and left to itself and
its numerous enemies will ever be sue
cess or bring pleasure and profit to the
owner, but will always be failure and a
disgrace to the owner of the farm.
The way to proceed is as follows: Plow
the land thoroughly. It does not matter
much how the land may be situated and
disposed, as long as it is free from stag
nant water. IF it slopes toward the south
west or to the west and is protected by
higher ground on the north and northeast,
or by belt of forest, such a situation is
preferable to all others. Exposure to
early warm spells by which the growth is
pushed forward and succeeded by late
frosts is to be avoided. The land well
plowed early in the Fall and crossplow-
ed to break the ground perfectly, matured
as literally as possible and then harrow
ed. It is then marked out accurately by
means of stakes in lines crossing each
other so feet apart, making 40 trees to the
acre. The pillow is run three or four times
in the cross burrows so as to deepen the
which are then dug out ~
feet deep and 3 feet in diameter. This
work may be done after the Fall grain
and late blowing is finished, so as to be
ready for the fine days in November when
5he nursery trees have ripened theirwood,
Or even later, in December, when by
proper management the ground may be
Kept free from frost and the trees may be
planted without difficulty. But a quanti-
" of rich compost should be prepared |
without delay; some old manure, the sat-
lrated soil from the yards and pens;
swamp muck, lime, wood ashes, road scrap
ngs, and any other matter that would |
eed the trees, not forgetting allthe bones
md WOODEN rags that can be gathered and
added to the heap, all these may be mix
ID with sod and earth from fence rows
md carried to the ground. A foot in
lepth of this is thrown into the hole and
mixed with some of the subsoil thrown
,ut and raised into mound upon which
he centre of the roots is to be placed |
when the tree is planted. A quantity of |
he compost is dropped near the hole.
This finishes the preparatory work of
,lanting and all is ready for the trees.
As soon az the trees arrive, which
hould be as early as possible after they
re dug at the nursey, they are unpacked
nd carried to the ground. The roots are
from the sun and. wind by
hrowing over them pailful of water and
few shovels of soil, but are got into the
round as quickly as possible. A tree
J taken from the bundle, the roots are
pread out, and the broken ones are prun-
with sharp knife; the tree is then set
n the mound of soil and the roots care
lilly placed in natural position. They
re then covered with the top soil first
brown out, and then with the compost,
be soil being worked in among the roots
nd these disposed as nearly as possible
1 their previous position in the soil. The
oil should be pressed firmly as the hole
, filled, and when the roots are covered
he remainder of the soil is replaced and
he work of planting is done. The top is
hen to be pruned, the new wood cut back
ne-third and the surplus branches wholly
amoved.
Fall planting when thus managed is
quivalant to the saving of year in the
Maturity of the orchard. It may be sup
osed that no growth occurs in the trees
d the winter, but this would not be con-
istant with the facts. Trees that have
cen healed in for the winter, when taken
ut in the spring, have been found to
make considerable root growth, and for
his reason, if for no other, we prefer
lanting in the fall rather than heeling in,
eeping the trees over until the spring